How Has Christmas Pudding Changed Over Time

What would Christmas dinner be without a Christmas pudding? As Stir Upward Sunday (the day that you lot're traditionally supposed to make your pud) approaches, Sam Bilton looks at the origins of the Christmas pudding. She's also institute some historical recipes to endeavor at dwelling, including medieval figgy pudding and a classic Victorian Christmas pudding recipe – straight from Queen Victoria's chef.

A thoroughly Victorian invention?

Following the union of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Majestic family celebrated Christmas with gusto and the rest of the nation followed their example. Charles Dickens has certainly helped plant Christmas in our minds equally a very Victorian custom.

"In half a minute Mrs Cratchit entered – flushed, only smiling proudly – with the pudding, similar a speckled cannon ball, so hard and business firm, blazing in half a half a quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas Holly stuck into the top. Oh, what a wonderful pudding!" A Christmas Ballad by Charles Dickens

Even so, the Christmas pudding itself has much before origins.

Bring united states some figgy pudding!

The pudding nosotros know today began life as a pottage. This was a kind of broth, including raisins and other dried fruit, spices and wine. Information technology was thickened with breadcrumbs or ground almonds. Not different to the mince pies of yesteryear, it often included meat or at least meat stock.

^{The original 'figgy pudding' was almost unrecognisable from modernistic Christmas pudding.}

MEDIEVAL FIGGY PUDDING RECIPE

Fygey from the Course of Cury (1392)

Take almaundes blanched, grynde hem and depict hem up with h2o and wyne: quarter fygur, hole raisouns. bandage perto powdour gyngur and hony clarified, seeth information technology well & salt it, and serue along.

This plum pottage would be served at the beginning of the meal rather than at the end of the meal as we exercise today.

It was non until the end of the 17th century that the pottage took on a more than solid appearance. Information technology was served like a porridge or cooked inside a skin, like a sausage. Even then, it was more than probable to have been sliced and cooked nether a roasting articulation and served alongside the main meal or equally a starter – not a dessert.

During the 18th century, plum porridge would go associated with Christmas. It would exist the Victorians who raised its prominence at the festive tabular array.

^{Recipe for Christmas Pottage is from Charles Carters Complete Practical Cook (1730)}

Christmas Pudding and Stir Upwards Sun

Bourgeois though they were, the Victorians believed Christmas should be historic (although excessive drinking and frolicking were frowned upon). It was they who established the tradition of making the Christmas pudding on Stir Upwardly Sun, the fifth Lord's day earlier Christmas.

Inspiration was taken from the Collect in the Book Of Common Prayer:

"Stir up, we beseech thee, oh Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen."

^{Trinkets were stirred into the Christmas pudding mixture on Stir Up Lord's day.}

Stir Up Dominicus was a family unit thing. Each family member was supposed to stir the mixture from due east to west to honour the journeying of the Magi. This ritual was also idea to bring the family luck in the coming yr.

Originally the puddings would have been shaped into a sphere and boiled in a cloth. This practice eventually gave way to steaming the dessert in a pudding basin or elaborate mould, peculiarly in wealthier households. The traditional accompaniment to the Christmas pudding was a sweet custard or a hard sauce (nowadays known every bit brandy butter).

It was customary to hide a number of small trinkets in the mixture, a chip like the twelfth dark cake. These charms often included a silver coin which signified wealth, and a ring to represent a time to come matrimony. Woe betide the guest who stumbled across a thimble in their serving… this meant certain spinsterhood for the recipient!